Death-crash spy planes are still leaking fuel

Britain's 18 Nimrods remain in daily use in Afghanistan, two months after a coroner called for the entire fleet to be grounded Crews on the RAF's ageing Nimrod spy planes have reported more than 300 fuel leaks in the two years since the disastrous crash which claimed 14 lives in Afghanistan in September 2006. Bob Ainsworth, Defence minister, revealed that since the explosion near Kandahar, which caused the heaviest loss of life in a single incident since the Falklands war, crews had been under an obligation to report all fuel leaks. In May private correspondence between Mr Ainsworth and his Tory Shadow Liam Fox had suggested there had been 111 fuel leaks since the disaster. However, this week Mr Ainsworth revealed that the figure of 111 referred solely to leaks from fuel tanks inside the fuselage of the 40-year-old craft. It... [read full story]